Citation Nr: 0709906
Decision Date: 04/05/07 Archive Date: 04/16/07
DOCKET NO. 04-32 768 ) DATE
)
)
On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Reno,
Nevada
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric
disorder.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
K. J. Kunz, Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran served on active duty from March 1996 to March
2000.
This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals
(Board) from a December 2003 rating decision by a Regional
Office (RO) of the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA).
Although the RO has framed the issue as service connection
for anxiety, after reviewing the claims file, the Board
believes that the issue is best described more broadly as
service connection for an acquired psychiatric disability.
This appeal is being remanded to the RO via the Appeals
Management Center (AMC), in Washington, D.C. VA will notify
the appellant if further action is required on her part.
REMAND
Service medical records include references to complaints and
symptoms which are arguably psychiatric in nature. Post-
service medical records document diagnoses of anxiety and bi-
polar disorder. There is a VA medical opinion to the effect
that the veteran's current psychiatric disability is not
related to her service-connected headache disability.
However, it does not appear that there is a medical opinion
addressing any possible relationship between the complaints
and symptoms noted during service and current psychiatric
disability. Although the RO noted in the statement of the
case that a definite mental health diagnosis of a psychosis
or neurosis was not made during service or within a year of
discharge, the Board believes that the focus should be on
when an acquired psychiatric disability was first manifested,
not when it was medically diagnosed.
Under the circumstances, the Board finds that VA's duty to
assist the veteran requires a VA examination and etiology
opinion.
Accordingly, the case is REMANDED for the following actions:
1. The veteran should be scheduled for a
VA psychiatric examination. It is
imperative that the claims file be made
available to and be reviewed by the
examiner in connection with the
examination. Any indicated special tests
should be accomplished, and the examiner
should clearly report all acquired
psychiatric disorders found to be
present. As to each such current
acquired psychiatric disorder, the
examiner should offer an opinion as to
whether it is at least as likely as not
(a 50% or higher degree of probability)
that such disorder was manifested during
service or within one year of discharge
from service.
2. After completion of the above, the RO
should review the expanded record and
determine if service connection is
warranted for an acquired psychiatric
disability. If the benefit remains
denied, the veteran and her
representative should be furnished an
appropriate supplemental statement of the
case. The case should then be returned
to the Board for appellate review.
The veteran and her representative have the right to submit
additional evidence and argument on the matter or matters the
Board has remanded to the regional office. Kutscherousky v.
West, 12 Vet. App. 369 (1999).
This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment by the RO.
The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the
Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of
Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or
other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious
manner. See The Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994,
Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 302, 108 Stat. 4645, 4658 (1994),
38 U.S.C.A. § 5101 (West 2002) (Historical and Statutory
Notes). In addition, VBA's Adjudication Procedure Manual,
M21-1, Part IV, directs the ROs to provide expeditious
handling of all cases that have been remanded by the Board
and the Court. See M21-1, Part IV, paras. 8.44-8.45 and
38.02-38.03.
_________________________________________________
ALAN S. PEEVY
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the
nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a
decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.
38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2006).